


What is Family? ('Cause I Sure As Hell Don't Know)

by zouge_tori



Series: I'm Hooked On You [1]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), The Isle of the Lost Series - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Adam They're Gods, All of the Hades Children are Genderqueer, Attempted Murder, Bisexual Harry, Bisexual Uma, Bullying, Canon Divergent, Defiance of the Gender Binary, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Diverting Blame, Divorce, Established Relationship, Ex. Hadie's first name is actually Phoenix and Hadie is his nickname, F/F, F/M, Fairy Godmother Is Homophobic, Family Dynamics, Fetishization of LGBT+ Character, Fetishization of Polyamory, Genderqueer Character, Hadie is a Cinnamon Roll, Hatred Toward Polyamory, Homophobia, I Changed A Bunch of Names Because I Didn't Like Them, Internalized Homophobia, Isle of the Lost (Disney), Judgement Based On Lineage, King Adam is an Asshole, King of Hearts Just Wants the Best for the Twins, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Character of Color, Lesbian Freddie Facilier, M/M, MTF Mal, Mental Breakdown, Mental Instability, More Focused on Friendship/Family Than Romance, Multi, Multiple Personalities, Named King and Queen of Hearts, No One Is Buying Fairy Godmother's Bullshit, None of the Isle Kids Are Straight, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pansexual Character, Past Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Peer Pressure, Polyamory, Polyfidelity, Queen Belle Owns Up to Her Guilt, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, The King of Hearts Is Trying His Best, The Twins Are Willing to Murder for Hadie, Trans Carlos, Trans Character, Trans Mal, Twins, United States of Auradon (Disney), United States of Auradon (Disney) Is Not Perfect, Wrongful Imprisonment, ftm Carlos, not relationship focused, overprotective older siblings, overwhelming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2018-12-20 01:44:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11910621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zouge_tori/pseuds/zouge_tori
Summary: Connor and Coraline had always longed to escape the hell-hole that was the Isle with their loved ones (which was about 5 people but that's not the point). Their want to escape is only increased when they found out that someone who they were told was dead was very much alive and living on the mainland.So, when the messengers come from Auradon to tell them that they were invited to Auradon Prep, they gladly accept, but only so that their goals will be realized. While Coraline openly charms and talks her way into the hearts of the heroes, Connor works behind the scenes, making sure that everything falls into place, even if it means "convincing" some people into it.But, as the “goodness” lessons become somewhat degrading, homework becomes overwhelming, and the scrutiny directed toward everything they do increases to unbearable levels, the twins start to doubt that coming to the island was a good idea.Formerly Known As: And I Can't Let GoDISCONTINUED (kind of?)SEE CHAPTER 8 FOR MORE DETAILS





	1. fam·i·ly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor and Coraline get their ticket out.
> 
> Connor POV

******_fam·i·ly_**  
**_ˈfam(ə)lē/  
_** **_noun  
_** **_a person or people related to one and so to be treated with a special loyalty or intimacy_**

Connor had been counting money at the counter after the shop had closed when the royal couriers had come into the shop. The black haired boy immediately closed the register in a slight panic before leaning on the counter, a nonchalant look on his face.

“And what do you lads want?” Connor asked, his neutral accent briefly slipping into a Scottish accent.

“‘His Royal Majesty, King Ben of Auradon, and his Councillor, Miss Evie of the Isle, hereby request the company of you, Connor and Caroline Hartz, for the current academic year at Auradon Prep. Please notify His Majesty’s couriers of your response to this request. We’d love for you two to join us at Auradon Prep. Will you come? Signed, King Ben.’” Coraline’s voice read aloud.

Connor smirked at the bewildered look of the messengers as the leader looked in his bag for the scroll that Coraline was reading as she leaned against the side of the counter, glancing at the couriers in an unimpressed manner.

“Sounds pretty dull.” Connor commented, looking at his sister with disguised interest in his eyes.

“True. Give us a minute to discuss it.” Coraline replied, grabbing her brother by the arm and dragging him into the back room.

Coraline and Connor remained nonchalant until Coraline closed the door. Immediately, the calm façades melted away, and, in the dim light, Connor could see the excitement and intrigue on his sister’s face as she grinned.

“This is our ticket to get ourselves, Dad, and our friends off of this accursed Isle!” Coraline whispered ecstatically in French, not wanting the couriers to overhear their conversation.

“But what says that Auradon will be any better?” Connor hissed back, eyes narrowing in doubt and anger.

“Then we’ll come back! And at least we’ll be able to see if Cerise is there!” the red-haired twin replied with a pleading look, her one hand linking with the black haired twin’s desperately.

The two stood in silence before Connor sighed, looking away from his twin as he contemplated his options. He then looked at Coraline with concern and regret.

“But what about Dad? What are we going to tell him?” Connor asked, concern in his voice.

“...You know Dad. He won’t protest about us going. He always has expressed how much he wished that we hadn’t grown up in this toxic environment. Even if it means he has to say goodbye to us forever.” Coraline said with a sigh and a sad smile.

“...We hate the fact that you’re right.” Pitch grumbled, a defeated but angry look on his face.

Coraline gently pushed her brother aside as she went to the door and gripped the handle. She sighed, her shoulders slumping.

“Yeah. As do I.” she murmured as she opened the door, putting on an apathetic façade.

Connor mimicked her and went back to the counter, where the courier was talking with the twins’ father. Mr. Hartz was a very small, plump man who would be mistaken for a child if it wasn’t for his facial hair and graying temples. His conflicted and sad look brightened as he saw the twins.

“Finally done with your little pow wow?” he said with an amused smile on his face.

“Yep! And we have come the the decision that we will go to Auradon.” Coraline replied, a faux calm look on her face.

“I’m guessing that you two knew that I would insist for you two to go?” Mr. Hartz said with a slight chuckle.

“You know us way too well, Papa.” Connor replied with an exaggerated wink.

“Anyway, the couriers told me that you two are going to be taken to Auradon with six other people.” the father continued, gesturing toward the couriers, who were obviously confused about how the family acted.

“Six? But last time only four people went.” Coraline asked in confusion, her head tilted to the side.

“To make it so that you kids feel more comfortable going to Auradon, King Ben and Miss Evie decided that it should be eight at a time so that you kids feel more ‘safe’.” Mr. Hartz replied, using air quotes and a sarcastic tone that made Connor chuckle.

“That should be fun.” Pitch mumbled sarcastically.

“And who will be coming with us?” Coraline asked curiously.

“Dizzy Tremaine,” both twins nodded in approval, “Anthony Tremaine,” Coraline looked uncomfortable while Connor apathetically shrugged, “Hermie Bing,” both nodded, though Connor’s was much more rigorous that Coraline’s, “Hadie Papaáïdēs,” both vigorously nodded, “Claudine Frollo,” both grimaced but sympathetically nodded, “and Diego de Vil.” the former king finished, causing both to be very intrigued.

“This is going to be a crazy ride.” Connor muttered as he left to go pack his things.


	2. friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group of VKs are gathered and head off to Auradon.
> 
> Coraline POV

******_friend_**  
**_/frend/  
_** **_noun  
_** **_a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations._**

Coraline sighed as she looked up at the pawnshop she had lived in for the past 4 years, which honestly felt like she had lived there her entire life. Connor and their father were talking as they waited for the car to pick them up. The moment that the twins had been waiting for since they had first heard of Auradon was finally here! But it still felt hollow because their father wasn’t going with them. Coraline was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a motor roar as a long limo pulled up.

“Bye, Papa.” both twins said at the same time, hugging their father tightly.

The three stood there for a few moments before they reluctantly broke apart. Connor began loading their bags into the car as Mr. Hartz pulled Coraline to the side.

“Look after your siblings and make sure that they get the help they need, even if none of them want to.” he said softly, glancing at Connor, who was chatting up the driver.

“I will.” she replied, squeezing his hands reassuringly. 

“Make sure to stop them if any of the others try to take control. From would I could tell, not all of them are happy about the move.” Mr. Hartz continued, his eyes misting up a little.

“They’re mostly upset that you aren’t coming along.” Coraline replied, feeling sadness stab her heart as she saw her father’s shoulders slump at the mention of going with them.

“I wish I could. But you know that Auradon wouldn’t want me.” he replied softly, mirthlessly chuckling at the thought.

Coraline pursed her lips, partially wanting to tell him about her and Connor’s plan but decided against it. She opened her mouth to reassure him when a loud beeping sound interrupted her. Coraline glared at the car, where her brother was smirking at her from where he was leaning into the driver’s side window.

“See you, Papa. I’ll see if we can get a transmission to you within the week.” Coraline said, squeezing his hand.

“I’ll look forward to it, mon petite infante.” Mr. Hartz said with a sad smile as he let go.

She went over to the car and turned back one last time to wave before going inside. Dizzy, Anthony, Diego, and Hermie were already inside, as their places were much closer to the Bridge than Connor, Coraline, Hadie, and Claudine’s. Connor climbed into the back and whistled, signalling the driver could go after he closed the door.

“Can you believe that we’re going to Auradon?! It’s like a dream come true!” Dizzy sighed dreamily as the car began to move, her eyes sparkling with joy.

“I can’t wait to see Carlos again! He looked so happy on the news!” Diego said happily, a grin on his face.

The car suddenly stopped and the door was flung open as Claudine jumped in the limo, clutching her bag close to her chest as she slammed the door shut. All of the VKs could hear Frollo’s loud but muffled ranting outside. Tears sprung up in her eyes as the car started to move once more, Frollo’s voice getting fainter.

“P-papa didn’t like the fact that I was leaving.” she whimpered, her grip loosening enough that Coraline could see the bruises on her arms.

“That bastard.” Connor hissed, sitting next to her and examining the bruises on her arm, which were black in color and ranged from wide shapes to small ovular marks.

“Language.” Coraline said half-heartedly, her voice soft and horrified as Connor pushed back Claudine’s black and pink hair to reveal that she had a giant bruise on her left cheek, a busted lip, her nose was bleeding, and her left eye was black while her right eye had a dark shadow under it.

“....Anthony, get my makeup bag.” Connor said, his voice quiet with a tight anger Coraline heard too many times.

Anthony silently went into the back and got out Connor’s red and black make-up bag. He then handed it him, going back to his seat quietly. Everyone watched in silence as Connor covered her bruises and black eye with foundation and a light powder as well as cleaning up her bloody nose and lip.

“This might sting a little.” Connor mumbled in warning as he applied lip balm to her lips.

Coraline noticed with a bit of horror and sadness that she didn't even flinch, as it was probably way below her pain threshold. Connor then gently put on lilac lipstick to cover the cut and keep suspicion down. By the time he finished, the car had pulled to a stop and the door opened as Hadie hopped inside, a cheerful smile on his face before it faded when he saw how somber everyone was.

“What happened?” Hadie asked softly and cautiously, sitting down where Connor had been previously sitting.

“Claudine’s bastard sperm donor decided to beat her before she left to ‘persuade’ her into staying.” Connor growled, running his fingers through Claudine’s hair comfortingly, as her head was resting on his lap.

“Oh no, that’s awful!” Hadie said, no sarcasm or mocking in his voice as his eyes shone with horror and sadness.

Everyone present knew that, everyone there, Hadie’s home life was the best: Coraline and Connor’s mother was abusive and their parents were divorced; Dizzy’s mother and grandmother treated her like a slave and her father had died of unknown causes; Anthony’s parents had been forcefully separated because of his mother being sent to the Isle; Hermie’s father was a sadistic, abusive alcoholic and her mother commited suicide when Hermie was young; and Claudine was abused by her father for being half-Romani as well as being the product of rape and her mother had been murdered by Frollo in front of her.

Hadie, on the other hand, had three loving older siblings and parents who loved each other, never abused the children, and could actually see each other. But, despite his living conditions being much better than the others, he was always empathetic and kind when hearing about the abuse the others went through. In fact, he was constantly being bullied by other people on the Isle for being too soft, minus all of the present people.

The VKs all sat in a silence brought about by thinking about what the future would hold and the unspoken hope that Auradon would be better. Emotionally and physically drained, one by one, each one of them dozed off, leaning on each other for both sleep and emotional support.


	3. ar·ri·val

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group of VKs realizes that, in some aspects, Auradon is exactly the same as the Isle.
> 
> Hadie POV

**_ar·ri·val_ **  
**_əˈrīvəl/_ **  
**_noun_ **  
**_the emergence or appearance of a new development, phenomenon, or product._ **

Hadie woke up to someone tapping him on the shoulder. Looking up he saw Dizzy looking at him with joy and excitement clear on her face.

“We’re here!” she squealed happily, bouncing on her seat.

Hadie shot up and looked out the window. Sure enough, there were beautiful green hills and forests that Hadie had only seen in the pictures that his mom had shown him going past them as the car drove on. Giggling happily, he went to go wake Hermie, Connor, and Coraline as Dizzy went to wake up Diego, Claudine, and Anthony. After everyone was awake, all of them looked at the beautiful scenery around them, enraptured by the scenery that looked like it came straight out of a fairytale or a dream. After Zeus knew how long, the car slowed down as they pulled into a driveway that lead to a large, pristine castle that had perfect hedges, a large statue of former King Adam, and a sign that said, “Welcome to Auradon Prep” in bold letters and, “Goodness doesn’t get any better.” in smaller, thinner letters.

“More like ‘normativity doesn’t get any worse’.” Anthony said snarkily, getting a chuckle from the group, even though some of them were relatively weak or forced.

The car pulled up in front of the statue and the engine turned off. The driver got out and then opened one of doors. Dizzy was the first to leave the car, followed by Hadie, Anthony, Diego, and Coraline. After a minute or two, Connor and Claudine came out of the car, the older boy’s arm wrapped around her waist loosely but was a comforting gesture to the younger girl. The eight VKs all clumped together, a certain tension that only was there when something seemed...off.

“Welcome to Auradon!” A loud voice greeted.

Hadie peered around Connor, who he was behind, and saw a blonde boy dressed in blue that he recognized as being King Ben, walk up to him, Mal right next to him, holding his hand. Behind them was Jay next to an Asian girl with long black hair, Evie next to a nerdy looking boy with glasses, and Carlos with a young girl with black hair who Hadie recognized from the broadcast of the Coronation as being Jane, the Fairy Godmother’s daughter.

“I’m King Ben, as most of you probably know. If you wouldn’t mind, will you tell me your names?” Ben asked kindly, his voice gentle but loud.

“I’m Connor, and that’s my sister, Coraline. That’s Hadie, Hermie, Dizzy, Anthony, Diego, and, last but not least, the wonderful Claudine.” Connor introduced, pointing to each one as he said their name.

Each one offered a slight wave and a smile, looking nervous and a bit excited, though Claudine also looked very embarrassed by Connor’s loud praise, though all of the VKs who had been in the car knew that it was probably to help keep her mind off of her former home. Ben opened his mouth to say something but a girl that Hadie briefly didn’t recognize ran past him toward Coraline. Only when the girl wrapped her arms around Coraline in a tight hug did Hadie realize with joy that it was Freddie, Coraline’s girlfriend for years.

“I missed you so much, mon belle!” Freddie said excitedly, holding her girlfriend at arm’s length.

Coraline’s eyes glittered with unshed tears and happiness as the two started to speak rapid-fire French at each other, as they were so excited that they forgot how to speak English. Hadie noticed two things out of the corner of his eyes: one was that Connor looked happy but bitter at the same time, which made sense due to neither of his boyfriends being there, and two was that a woman who he recognized as being the Fairy Godmother walked forward until she was a few feet away from Mal and Ben, a pleasant smile on her face. However, the smile faded and contorted into a slight sneer of disgust when Freddie pulled Coraline into a passionate kiss. Most of the VKs cooed happily, and those who didn't, like Mal and Anthony, at least smile, as everyone knew how much the two missed each other, especially considering Uma was still missing. However, it was cut short when the Fairy Godmother pushed the two of them away from each other, causing everyone’s happy looks to morph into ones of confusion.

“No PDA on campus!” She said with a wide smile and a sickeningly sweet voice.

“But me and Mal do PDA all the time?” Ben asked in confusion, holding his hand that was holding Mal’s as proof.

“Well, you’re the King and she’s the Lady of the Court!” The Fairy Godmother replied with a nervous chuckle.

A sinking feeling in his stomach, Hadie looked at all of the present VKs, who all looked a mix of like they were going to throw up and very uncomfortable, as they all knew the tactic that she was using. Claudine seemed to be the worst off, as her breathing was increasing and she started scratching at her arm vigorously, a habit she had formed from all of the racial slurs and abuse thrown at her by her father. Diego had to physically take a hold of the offending hand and start to whisper something to her, though Hadie couldn't hear exactly what it was.

“But Carlos and I also do PDA, too?” She said, looking like she was going to vomit.

A tiny memory tugged at his thoughts as he remembered that his mother said that a John Goodwill was born to Janet Goodwill, better known as the Fairy Godmother. Not a Jane Goodwill. His eyes widened as he realized that both Jane and Carlos were trans and exposed to this homophobic and probably transphobic attitude.

Crap.

“Well, you’re my daughter!” Janet responded, sounding more and more desperate to justify herself.

“But-?” The boy next to Evie started to ask, raising his free hand a little before he was cut off by Jay stepping forward.

“Guys, guys, guys! We get it! FG is super homophobic!” Jay interrupted, a snarky look on his face as he defiantly looked at Janet.

The Vks all chuckled, either sincerely, nervously, or in a way that said that it was the only thing that was keeping them from punching the Fairy Godmother. Janet started to grow beet red as she squeaked indignantly, sounding like the mice that she had transformed in the famous story.

“That was uncalled for, Jason!” she scolded, causing the group to quiet again in shock and confusion.

All of the newcomers had looks of confusion while the VKs that had been there for awhile had looks ranging from annoyed to pissed off, in the case of Mal.

“Jason? But...that’s not his full name!” Hadie asked in confusion, stepping forward.

“It isn’t?” Ben asked, sounding genuinely confused and surprised.

“It isn’t! His first name is Javed!” Hadie said, looking from Jay to Janet in confusion.

“His ‘new’ name is Jason.” Mal hissed, looking at the good fairy with hatred and bitterness in her eyes, which were tinged with green at the edges.

“But that’s not okay! Ms. Amilah was the one who chose his name and said she never wanted it to change, even after-!” Hadie started to ramble, remembering the way that Jay’s mother looked so regretful as she was guided to the afterlife by Hadie, who had only been 6.

“Hadie, calm down.” Hermie said, gently taking a hold of his hand.

He didn’t realize he was crying until he felt his chest heave with sobs, the tears going down his cheeks. Someone pulled him into a tight hug and, after he calmed down, Hadie scrubbed the tears off and let go, noticing that it was Connor. He noticed the looks of grief on all of the present kid’s faces. While not all of them knew her that well, they all remembered how kind and gentle Amilah Khalaf was. The lesser god turned and stared defiantly at Janet, feeling something curl around his legs as a slight gasp came from Hermie.

“How dare you disrespect the wishes of a woman who loved her son with all of her heart, even after death.” Hadie said, his head tilting to the side as he felt something else speak the words along with him.

“And how do you know what she wanted?” Janet asked, a mix of defiance and fear in her eyes.

“Because I was the one who escorted her into Underworld. Not my mother, not my father, not even my siblings. I did, when I was 6.” Hadie replied, the voice seeming to grow louder at the word, siblings.

Suddenly, a firm squeeze to his hand brought him back into reality as he looked over and saw Hermie was still there, holding his hand, as she gave him a look of, “not right now”. Sighing, Hadie backed away, the presence that was with him dissipating, but his defiant glare at Janet never faltered.

“Anyway, let’s show you guys around, alright?” Ben said, obviously noticing the tension among the VKs.

Hadie and the other newcomers reluctantly nodded and followed Ben as he started to give a tour of the school. However, Hadie hesitated to give Janet one final glare before leaving, head held high and shoulders squared.


	4. per·fec·tion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claudine overanalyzes things and has a PTSD attack.

**_per·fec·tion_ **  
**_pərˈfekSH(ə)n/_ **  
**_noun/_ **  
**_the condition, state, or quality of being free or as free as possible from all flaws or defects/_ **

Claudine immediately was uncomfortable with Auradon. It seemed too perfect, as if something dark was lurking underneath the perfect...well, everything. It also reminded her of her father’s office: too neat, too clean, too organized, and, by what happened in front of the school, just as racist. It didn't help that Claudine could feel the stares of all of the students burning into her like a brand, making her shoulders hunch and her arms tuck closer to her chest. She knew why they were staring, though.

There were many features that conflicted with each other: she wore her black lace dress that went down to a few inches above her knees that had been given to her by Pyrros, lace gloves that went up to her wrists (which was Diego’s gift to match Pyrros’s gift), white knee socks, and black flats, which was probably expected from a child of former-Judge Claude Frollo; but she had coppery skin, black hair that was dyed lilac at the bottom and pulled over her shoulder, and shockingly bright blue eyes, which were all traits given from her Romani mother. Overall, she didn't really “look the part” of being Frollo’s daughter.

“Claudia, are you okay?” Diego’s voice asked, piercing her thoughts.

Claudine snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at her boyfriend, who had a look of confusion and concern on his face.

_What a horrible girl. How could you worry your only “friend” like that, you gypsy scum?_ Frollo’s voice echoed in her head. 

“I-I don't like it here. I stick out like a sore thumb, just like how I always stuck out at home.” Claudine said softly, her eyes flickering from her boyfriend’s face to the ground.

One hand squeezed her left hand, which he was holding, while the other gently turned her face so that she was looking at his honest, loving face.

“No, you don't. You're just so beautiful and wonderful that they can't take their eyes off of you.” Diego reassured, squeezing her hand tighter as a positive grin spread across his face.

However, a small, embarrassed pout then crossed his face as he tilted his head to the side, as if he was listening to someone talk.

“She is very pretty, guys. I can't help it if I’m over-the-top with loving her so much.” Diego mumbled, his dark skin darkening further as he blushed with embarrassment.

Claudine smiled and linked her left arm with her boyfriend’s as he softly argued with himself, the familiar sound calming her down considerably. However, that good mood dissipated as they stopped at the Tourney Field. A bunch of girls were wearing what Claudine assumed was the cheerleading uniform, as it had the opposite color scheme of the cheerleading uniforms on the Isle, stretching, chatting, and giggling as they watched the boys talk to King Ben.

But that's not what caught her attention and made her stop dead in her tracks.

Claudine's vision zeroed in on one who had a pink scarf wrapped around her neck, large golden hoop earrings, a purple headband, coppery skin, black hair that was tied into a ponytail and spilled down her back, and gray-green eyes. Claudine recognized some of the girl’s features that were almost identical to a photo from a small little shrine that her father pretended not to have dedicated to “the gypsy wretch that got away”. The girl was Esmeralda's daughter.

Within seconds, she was no longer in the Tourney fields in Auradon and was warped back to a stormy night on the Isle. Bits of memories sprang to life before her eyes: her mother begging and pleading for Frollo not to harm her daughter; blood pooling around her mother’s corpse as the warmth left her body and the life left her eyes; Frollo stabbing her mother’s already corpse again, and again, and again, and-.

“Claudine, Claudine, you’re okay. We’re not on the Isle anymore. He can't hurt you.” Connor’s voice broke through the horrible memories that she sought to desperately suppress.

Suddenly, she was back in the Tourney Fields, aware of the tears running down her face, the feeling of Diego’s calloused but gentle hand holding hers, and Connor’s hands holding her shoulders gently but firmly. She blinked a few times, a few more tears going down her face. Claudine then looked around without moving and saw that a lot of Auradonians and VKs were all around her, noting how the VKs looked more resignedly sympathetic while confusion and concern was on the Auradonian’s faces.

“‘M sorry. I didn't mean to worry anyone.” Claudine mumbled, her soft voice cutting through the silence.

“What happened?” Ben asked, looking from her to Esmeralda's daughter.

“She didn't do anything. I just...had a flashback, that's all.” Claudine said with a shake of her head, forcing a smile on her face.

“Guys, give her some space and get back to practice.” Jay’s voice cut through the air, looking at everyone with disguised hostility.

The crowd murmured as they all walked away, sans the VKs and Esmeralda's daughter, who approached her with sad eyes and a concerned look on her face. Claudine unconsciously flinched, expecting to be yelled at.

“Are you feeling okay?” the girl asked, her hazel eyes filled with concern and worry instead of anger and disgust.

“‘M fine. It’s just been...a long time since I’ve seen a Romani.” Claudine replied, tilting her head to the side to hide the fact that she wasn’t used to being treated gently like this.

“Was that last person your mom?” The girl asked, a curious but sympathetic look on her face.

“How did you know?” Claudine asked, surprised about how accurate she was.

“You were repeating ‘dya’ over and over.” she replied, a knowing look on her face.

“Oh.”

Embarrassment washed over Claudine as she realized that it was obvious that the daughter of a Romani woman would also know Romani.

“Did something bad happen to her?” the girl asked, going a little closer.

“I would prefer not to talk about it.” Claudine replied, after a small nod.

She then recoiled at how similar her voice sounded like her fathers, to a point where she felt dread filling with her. However, the dread instantly went away as she felt Diego squeeze her hand reassuringly.

“Oh, that’s fine. I understand that, probably whatever happened to her is too traumatizing to talk about for a bit. Anyway, I’m Thalassis d’Châeaupers, though you can call me Thalia, and I’m, as you probably know, Esmeralda and Phoebus’s youngest child.” the girl replied, an understanding look on her face.

Becoming hyper-aware of how beautiful the other Romani girl was compared to her and feeling rather self-conscious and inadequate, Claudine’s free arm reached over to her occupied arm and starting scratching at her skin, a habit that had formed because of the constant racist treatment toward her. Connor, who she had briefly forgotten was right next to her, noticed and took a gentle hold on her hand, lacing his fingers between hers. Thalia’s eyes went down and noticed the now exposed black bruises, causing them to widen with shock and horror.

“Did he-?” she started to ask softly, obviously not wanting to trigger another flashback.

“Beat her for being the product of rape as well as being a Romani? Do you really think he wouldn't? Especially when he threw thousands of Romani people in jail to be executed and nearly burned down all of Paris to find one Romani?” Connor bitterly hissed, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

“Connor, don’t make things worse.” Diego said quietly, holding her hand tighter with sadness clear in his eyes.

“Sorry if I’m bitter about his self-righteous ass and how much of a fucking ignorant douchebag he is.” Connor grumbled, his eyes narrowing.

“That’s Pyrros’s job, hun.” Claudine pointed out with a weak chuckle.

“But they’re not here so I’m temporarily taking their place.” Connor replied with a grin.

Claudine hummed with agreement, her eyes travelling down to her arm before going back up to Thalia. The half-Romani looked from Claudine to the other cheerleaders, who were whispering to each other.

“I’ll be right back.” she said before jogging off to the gaggle of girls.

Although Claudine couldn’t see or hear what was really going on, it didn’t take long for Thalia to come back with her backpack on her back and holding a duffle bag.

“I just wanted to ask Audrey if it was okay to leave practice earlier. I want to hang out with you and get to know you a bit more.” the cheerfleader said, a curious and shy smile on her face.

“Okay.” Claudine said quietly, causing the two VKs on either side of her to relax a bit.

“So, did your mom teach you any songs in Romani?” Thalia asked curiously, not pressing the trauma any further.

A smile appeared on Claudine’s face as she talked animatedly about the things that her mother taught her before she died about Romani culture and music. In fact, the conversation with Thalia almost made her forget about the whole incident at the Tourney Fields.

Almost.


	5. u·ni·ty

**_u·ni·ty_ **  
**_ˈyo͞onədē/_ **  
**_noun_ **  
**_the state of being united or joined as a whole._ **

Connor’s face formed a frown as he walked into his room. The one side was dark reds and black while the other side was sky blue and gray, which was fine. But both sides of the rooms had sports equipment and video game systems neatly placed around the room and there were no signs of a vanity, sewing machine, or cooking equipment, which is what Connor and Diego actually liked. Was Ben not told how the two destress, which was especially important in keeping their sanity?

“Hey, Connor? Come look at this.” Diego said, sounding confused and slightly sick.

Dread filled his stomach as he went over to the black and white haired boy, who was leafing through the game library. The more Diego flipped through, the angrier Connor got. Most of them were very violent games, with very few of them actually being something either of them would actually want to play.

“Everyone on the Isle saw enough blood and gore to make the people here throw up. Did they really think that we would actually want to play that?” Diego asked, sounding horrified.

“Did Carlos or Evie or fucking anyone tell Ben what we actually like?” Connor growled, shutting down the library.

“They probably didn’t even think to ask because they had confidence enough in him to trust that he would get things that we would want.” Diego said, looking sick to his stomach.

“Let’s go meet up w/ the others to see how their rooms were fucked up.” Connor said, holding out his hand for Diego to take.

Diego numbly nodded and leaned on Connor as they walked down to Coraline’s joint room with Claudine. As they entered, Connor was surprised that Coraline’s side of the room was gray and pink while Claudine’s side was lavender and pale pink. Contrasting to Connor and Diego’s room, there was a vanity by the door, a sewing station next to the bathroom, and a writing desk across from the sewing station on the opposite side of the room. Coraline was pacing back and forth, obviously annoyed, while Claudine was looking confused and concerned on her bed.

“They put Hadie’s dresses, skirts, or any feminine clothing into Claudine’s drawers and closet.” Coraline hissed before either of the newcomers could say anything.

“Say what?!” Connor growled loudly, his eyes narrowing out of anger and disbelief.

“And they also put all of your feminine clothing into Coraline’s drawers and closet.” Claudine added as Connor put Diego next to her so she could comfort him.

“Most of the video games, like 98% of the games, that we had in our room were all super violent games. It’s like they think that, just because we are the children of ‘villains’, they think we like that shit! Like we didn’t grow up seeing that shit wherever we fucking went!” Connor said, tugging at his hair as he paced back and forth.

Sniffling and choked sobs filled the room, causing everyone to look over at the doorway, where Hadie and Anthony were standing. Hadie’s face was pressed into Anthony’s shoulders, arms holding onto the older boy tightly. Although Anthony’s face was stoic as it normally was, Connor could see his lip twitch a bit as he held back a snarl of anger and rage blazing like an uncontrollable fire in his eyes. Connor could also see Hermie and Dizzy standing behind both of them.

“Hadie discovered that all of his things that anyone got him that was remotely feminine is gone, including jewelry and accessories.” Anthony said, his voice tight with anger.

“The stupid xenophobic assholes!” Connor growled, going to Coraline’s closet.

Despite his anger, Connor took out his clothing carefully and noticed Anthony hand off Haddie to Coraline before going through Claudine’s closet and taking out Hadie’s clothing.

“It happened to you guys, too?” A familiar voice asked from the doorway, the sarcastic bite that was normally there missing.

Connor stopped and turned toward the doorway, where Mal and Evie were standing, sympathetically looking at the eight distressed VKs.

“‘You guys, too’?!” You mean they did this shit with you guys?!” Connor spat angrily, horror tinging his angry voice.

All of the VKs from outside in the hallway all trickled into the room, each one looking a mix of angry, upset, and bitter, sans Dizzy and Hermie, who just looked sad and upset.

“All of my suits were taken away and I had to really fucking persuade them to give ‘em back.” Freddie admitted bitterly from where she was standing next to her girlfriend.

“All of my skirts were taken away from me the first week and then my pants were taken away from me when they found out that I had female parts.” Carlos admitted, scratching behind his dog’s ears.

“Reverse happened to me. Ben had to really talk to FG about how we were trans to get me and Carlos’s clothing back but she and the nurse keep giving us dirty looks every time we pass by them.” Mal added, her eyes glowing green at the edges before they turned back into her normal color.

“All of my pirate outfits were taken and I had to lie to get them back.” CJ admitted bitterly.

“I stole all of my gender neutral outfits back.” Zevon bitterly stated.

“It seems like everyone except me, Evie, Dizzy, and Hermie had their shit tampered with, though I still get points off of my tests when I write my real name on the top.” Jay admitted rather saltily.

“Things here really aren’t that much better than they were on the Isle, huh?” Connor stated with a drawn out sigh.

“Not really.” Evie said with a shrug and a sad smile.

“I’m not letting this happen.” Hadie’s trembling voice said after a long silence.

Everyone looked at Hadie, whose eyes were bloodshot and fists were clenched so hard that they were trembling. Unconsciously, Connor realized that he was too young to look so angry and upset. Hell, most of them were.

“I refuse to let this xenophobia go on. King Ben, although he is probably a hypocrite as well, said that we could be whoever we want to be. But if the Fairy Godmother can’t accept this as well, then...well…” a terrifying, humorless, and bone chilling smile appeared on his face, “Mom will just have to pay a visit.” Hadie commented.

“...It’s not just us. Other kids are forced to get ‘Auradonian’ names: Lanying and Shui, Shang and Mulan’s kids, are forced to use the names Lonnie and Shang; Jamilah, Genie’s daughter, uses the name Jordan; Varme, Chion, and Evren, Queens Elsa, Hestia, and Marisol’s kids, are forced to use the names Vanessa, Chesley, and Evelyn. The list goes on.” Jay remarked quietly, looking upset when he mentioned Lanying.

“They’re even doing this to people who were born in Auradon?!” Coraline demanded, looking horrified.

“Of course they would. After all, they erase all records of children being born male when they transition and cast a memory spell that replaces all memories of said person being male.” Hadie said from where he was, sounding very bitter.

“What do you mean?” Evie asked, looking very confused.

“Ja...Fairy Godmother’s daughter, Jane. I remember Mom talking about a John Goodwill being born to Janet and Edward Goodwill. But there was never a mention of a Jane Goodwill.” Hadie looked at Carlos with sad but knowing eyes, “She’s trans, isn’t she?” he asked.

Carlos, for the first time during the conversation, looked up at everyone, eyes dull with sadness and pain as he nodded. No one spoke for the longest time until Connor picked up all of his clothing in his arms.

“Well, guess who’s going to wear all of their feminine shit tomorrow?” Connor proclaimed loudly, a mischievous grin on his face.

“I am!” Hadie said with a wide grin.

“Let’s fuck these stupid xenophobic rules!” Coraline said loudly, expression full of life and excitement as they all cheered.

And so, Project: Break Heteronormativity commenced.


	6. as·sault

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chad tries to flirt but ends up getting decked in the face.
> 
> Hadie POV

_**as·sault** _  
_**əˈsôlt/** _  
_**verb** _  
_**make a physical attack on** _

Hadie hummed happily as he rocked on his heels outside of Connor and Diego’s room, waving at the Auradon kids passing by him. He was super excited to be in Auradon, though he was a tad disappointed that certain things were the same in both places, but there was also a strong feeling of longing for his siblings and parents. He was still trying to figure out who that voice was from yesterday, or if it was just a figment of his imagination. Either way, it would be helpful for at least one of the strong people in his life to help him with that. But, overriding that was excitement and hope that made him feel like he was going to burst. There was also a sense of defiance inside him as he wore the pastel galaxy dress with spiderwebs on the hips and chest that his mom gave him as a birthday present, black tights with pale pink bones on them, black heels with black bows on them, and a black headband that had a skull bow on it.

After awhile, Connor and Diego finally came out of the room. Connor decided to wear a red t-shirt, black skirt, and red combat boots, obviously not feeling like being that fancy today. Diego, on the other hand, wore his usual white and gray jacket with blue sleeves that had a sky blue cloud sewn onto the back, a silver t-shirt, gray and white pants, and black boots, which was the outfit that he wore when he wanted to make a good impression.

“Shall we get going?” Hadie asked, a devious and mischievous grin on his face.

“Of course. We wouldn’t want to keep our darling friends waiting.” Connor replied with a smug grin.

“Speaking of, where is Anthony?” Diego asked, looking around for said person.

“He went to make sure that Dizzy was awake.” Hadie replied with a nonchalant shrug as they walked to the cafeteria.

As Hadie expected, Coraline and the group had secured a table right next to the door as well as next to Mal and her crew’s table in case they needed to run or needed help. Coraline was avidly talking to her girlfriend (as they hadn’t caught up yet from the months of seperation), Dizzy was happily talking wither her cousin (who seemed amused by her infectious smile and excitement that Hadie loved so much), and Claudine was listening to Hermie talk with small but expressive hand gestures. Smiling happily, Hadie sat across from Dizzy while Connor sat across from Coraline and Freddie and Diego sat next to Claudine, holding his girlfriend’s hand as he complimented her, causing her to blush and the brunette across from them to gently tease her about it in a way that was clear that she was joking.

As Dizzy continued to talk, Hadie started looking around at the VKs all gathered at the table to see how they decided to dress on the first day of school. Coraline was wearing a puffy red and black shirt, a matching hoop-skirt, white tights, black mary-janes with heels, and her black beanie with a gold crown on it, her hair all tucked into the beanie. Freddie was wearing a maroon 3-piece suit, a black top hat with a cardinal feather sticking out of the maroon band, and a black bowtie. Dizzy was wearing a frilly sky blue dress, lime green bows on the end of both of her pigtail braids, paint-splattered green tights, black flats, and her normal paint-splattered glasses. Anthony was wearing the exact same thing that he was wearing yesterday (a dark yellow t-shirt, a black vest, torn black jeans, and tattered converse sneakers), but a section of his hair had been braided and tied off with a purple bow, obviously Dizzy’s handiwork. Claudine was wearing a black dress with white outlines of stars, moons, and planets, a lavender bow was tied into her braid, black and purple makeup, black flats, and white tights. Finally, Hermie was wearing a red suit jacket, a black bowtie, a red plaid skirt, black flats, white knee socks, and a headband with a top hat on it.

However, at some point, Hadie’s eyes wandered to a group of popular kids who were chatting at a table across from them. A couple of the jocks were nudging and laughing at each other, glancing at where Freddie and Coraline were. One of the jocks (Chad, if he remembered correctly from Ben’s tour) got up and walked over to their table, Apparently, Hadie wasn’t the only one who noticed as everyone at the table sans Coraline, Freddie, and Connor (who were all very invested in their conversation), stopped talking, all of them uneasily watching him. Chad leaned on the table with one hand as he attempted to seem cool and suave, finally getting the three’s attention.

“Hello there, ladies. Are you two together?” he said to Coraline and Freddie, his voice typical of a misogynistic asshole who usually wanted something from someone.

Both Coraline and Freddie looked at each other uneasily before linking hands and subtly shuffling closer together, obviously not comfortable with the attempted flirting. Hadie also noticed that Connor’s fingers were drumming on the table in a mix of impatience and anger.

“Yes, we are dating, and we have two other girlfriends.” Coraline replied with a polite but obviously strained tone of voice and a noticeably forced smile.

“That’s pretty sweet. Would you two ladies be interested in coming over to my place for some fun after school?” Chad asked, a disgusting smile on his face.

Coraline’s eyes widened and looked at Freddie with a frightened, who also looked very frightened. However, the umbrakinetic girl forced a polite but threatening smile on her face as she looked at Chad, who looked as if he was just waiting for them to say yes.

“I’m sorry, but Coraline and I are both gyneromantic, which means we’re attracted to only girls. So, no thank you.” Freddie said, holding onto Coraline even tighter.

“I’m sure that I could change that.” Chad said, starting to reach out to touch Coraline.

Before anyone could react, Connor rapidly stood up and decked him in the face, causing the jock to yelp and clutch his face as he fell onto the ground, blood spilling from between his fingers. Surprise and shock went through Hadie as he saw Connor’s skin become gunmetal gray, his hair becoming longer, messy, and inky back, and his body widened until he had a body type akin to an upside down triangle. Realization went through him as he saw the black aura that now surrounded the teen: it was Pitch, one of Connor’s more violent alters. He probably thought that Coraline and Freddie were in danger so he came out but his appearance was so dramatically different because of the magic that flowed through Connor and Coraline’s veins.

“Leave them the fuck alone.” Pitch growled, his voice sounding warped and distorted, as if coming through a broken radio.

Coraline seemed to realize what was going on as she went in front of Pitch and placed her hands against his chest, partially as a way to keep him away from Chad, partially to calm him down from his rage/adrenaline rush.

“Pitch, we’re not on the Isle. We’re in Auradon. Auradon would...would never allow that to happen. Ebony is no where close to us and neither are her ‘friends’. You’re safe. Connor’s safe. Freddie’s safe. We’re safe.” Coraline said, her hands cupping his face as she pressed her forehead against his.

A soft growl emanated from Pitch as he looked around Coraline at Chad, who had gotten back up and backed away, one hand holding onto his nose as he looked at Pitch with fear and horror clear on his face. Coraline sighed as she forced him to look in her eyes, obviously upset with the whole ordeal.

“He was just being a coddled idiot who wasn’t used to being told no. But he wouldn’t have tried to do that.” Coraline stated firmly, her voice tinged with the same desperation that both Hermie and Connor had had yesterday.

“...I’m not going back.” Pitch replied, his voice relaxing in a way that wasn’t reflected in his tense and agitated stance.

“And that’s fine. Just...remember this isn’t the Isle. You don’t have to use violence to protect us.” Coraline said, letting go of his face as she went to sit down.

With one last snarl of anger to Chad, Pitch sat down, allowing Hadie to see that his eyes were a blood red with spade-shaped pupils. All of the students in the cafeteria went back to what they were doing, now speaking in hushed tones.

“Serves him right.” Pitch hissed as he started to eat.

After a few minutes of sitting in a comfortable silence, Ben walked up to the table, concern clear on his kind and gentle face. Pitch stiffened in his seat but didn’t move to do or say anything.

“Are you three okay? Chad seemed like he was being a jerk to you guys.” the young King asked, genuine concern and a touch of relief in his voice.

Hadie could see Pitch look visibly taken aback by that statement, as he probably was expecting Ben to blame one of the three VKs for what had happened. However, the look of surprise quickly melted into a mix of a look of indifference and anger.

“The motherfucker was vainer than Gaston. Enough said.” Pitch replied as he finished his food.

“Yeah, and that’s saying something. Well, mostly. He did become a little less vain after he had Gil.” Coraline added with a shrug.

“And Gil is a precious cinnamon roll who is hopefully being guarded by Harry.” Pitch immediately stated, worry briefly flickering on his face before disappearing.

“He’s in good hands, Pitch. You all started dating for a reason.” Coraline said reassuringly, patting his arm.

Much, to Hadie’s surprise, Ben didn’t question the poly relationship but instead looked very thoughtful before his face broke out into a wide smile.

“I’ll make sure to try to get one or both of them over in the next group!” Ben said with a cheerful grin.

Hope fluttered in Hadie’s chest like a trapped butterfly at that, causing him to scootch over, leaning around Pitch to look at Ben with wide eyes. 

“A second group? More kids are coming over?” Hadie asked, trying (and failing) to keep the excitement out of his voice.

“Yeah, I plan on bringing over more kids after you guys settle in. Why do you ask?” Ben replied, confused and surprised by his sudden enthusiasm.

“Could you bring over my older sibs?” he asked excitedly, a wide grin on his face.

“Sibs?” Ben asked in confusion.

“Hadie has three older siblings on the Isle: Dion, Hector, and Pyrros. Dion and Hector are both 17 and single while Pyrros is 16 and taken by Claudine and Diego.” Coraline explained, looking amused.

“Oh! It seems like I’m learning a lot today! But I’ll see what I can do for you guys!” Ben said with an optimistic grin.

Hadie opened his mouth to respond when the bell rang loudly through the cafeteria. Several students groaned but all gathered their stuff and started to shuffle off.

“That’s the signal to go to first period, which most of you share in Remedial Goodness 101!” Ben said, getting up from where he was sitting.

Hadie noticed that Freddie winced at the mention of the class. And, based on the mere name of the “class”, it was probably very condescending and rude.

“Alright. Would you mind showing us where the classroom is?” Coraline asked smoothly, hiding her disgust easily from Ben but making it clear to Hadie that she wasn’t happy with it.


	7. nor·ma·tive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introductions go as well as introductions of trauma can be.
> 
> Claudine POV

**_nor·ma·tive_ **

**_ˈnôrmədiv/_ **

**_adjective_ **

**_establishing, relating to, or deriving from a standard or norm, especially of behavior._ **

 

Claudine noticed immediately that the seating chart was separated so the “boys” were on the left (facing the blackboard) while the “girls” were on the right. Not only that, but they were organized in alphabetical order and further divided into groups of two (Diego & Connor, Hadie & Anthony, Hermie & Claudine, Coraline & Dizzy). She hated this, as she usually sat next to Diego and Pyrros in her classes at Dragon Prep, and it made her on edge and a tad paranoid.

And, honestly, the whole “Remedial Goodness” class, as well as several other classes in the VKs’ classes, just sounded like the “reformation schools” that her father, former Governor Ratcliffe, Clayton, and Richard Bing would talk about in their long, racist rants.

“Hello, everyone! I hope you all had a good night’s sleep!” Fairy Godmother said with a too-wide smile.

 _Barely._ Claudine thought bitterly, remembering the literal fire and brimstone in her dreams.

“Now, before we get into the fun things,” Claudine and the other VKs cringed at the word “fun”, “why don’t each one of you introduce yourselves?” the chipper headmistress continued, looking at each one of the uncomfortable VKs.

Claudine shrunk down in her seat and she felt Hermie take ahold of her hand and squeeze it, in a mix of comforting Claudine and keeping her own temper in check.

“How about you start us off, Hermione?” Fairy Godmother asked, staring at the pair of girls.

Hermie flashed Claudine a nervous yet calming smile before she let go of Claudine’s hand as she got up and went to the front of the classroom, smoothing her skirt to get rid of any wrinkles in it. She then put her heels together and clasped her hands together in front of her.

“Hi, guys. As you all know, I’m Hermione ‘Hermie’ Bing. My best friends are Hadie, Diego, Claudine, Pyrros, and Dizzy, though the rest of you all are also my friends.” the VKs who weren’t included in her small list all chuckled at that, “My favourite musical so far is Heathers. My dad is a violent, racist, raging alcoholic and my mom died when I was six by committing suicide.” Hermie said, a pleasant smile on her face the entire time.

Claudine noticed with a dark sense of glee that Fairy Godmother looked sick to her stomach at the dark turn at the end but the fae pushed through her obvious discomfort to plaster on a fake smile that looked much more like a grimace.

“Thanks for sharing, Hermie. Claudine, could you go next?” Fairy Godmother asked, her dark eyes focusing on Claudine as Hermie went to go sit down.

Claudine, terrified, shook her head, slumping even more into her seat. She didn’t realize that she was trembling ever so slightly until Hermie sat down next to her and steadily held onto the half-Romani’s hand. However, much to her relief, Diego stood up, putting his one arm in the air.

“I’ll go first, Fairy Godmother.” Diego said, his voice trembling a little bit.

“Thank you for volunteering, Diego. Go right on ahead.” Fairy Godmother said with a beaming smile, probably not realizing why he had volunteered.

Diego, on unsteady feet, went to the front of the class, fidgeting ever so slightly out of nervousness. His heterochromic eyes then met Claudine’s and he noticeably relaxed.

“I’m Diego de Vil, Carlos’s cousin. I’m dating Claudine and Pyrros,” Hadie excitedly grinned at the mention of his older sibling, “and I’m pretty much equally friends with all of the VKs in the room. I like reading very peaceful books and I tend to meditate when I’m too stressed. My dad is a really great guy who I love with all my heart and, although I’ve never met my other dad, Dad has talked about him in a positive light so I’m ecstatic to actually meet him in person.” Diego said with a nervous smile, immediately going to his seat when he was done.

“Thanks for sharing, Diego. Claudine, it’s your turn now.” Fairy Godmother said in a sickly sweet manner.

Claudine meekly nodded and, after squeezing Hermie’s hand, got up and went to the front of the class, body trembling ever so slightly. Her eyes searched for something to ground her to reality when her eyes met Diego’s, who looked encouraging and supportive, a small smile curving his lips. Taking in a deep breath and exhaling it, Claudine managed to smile pleasantly.

“I’m Catherine Frollo, but everyone just calls me Claudine. My two significant others are Diego de Vil and Pyrros Papaáïdēs. My closest friends are Hermie, Hadie, Dizzy, Connor, and Coraline. I like very old books like Lés Miserablés and the Hobbit. Pyrros introduced me to a more goth style of clothing to distinct me from my father. Speaking of, my father is a racist piece of garbage who killed my mother in cold blood and abused me because I am half-Romani. Mr. Hartz thinks that, because of all of the psychological and physical abuse, I might have PTSD but I’m not 100% sure, as I’ve never been to a proper psychologist before.” Claudine rambled a bit, her voice becoming cold when mentioning her father but warming when she mentioned Mr. Hartz.

"Damn right! Frollo is a fucking douchebag!” Pitch called out with a manic laugh from where he was sitting.

“Pitch, calm down.” Coraline said loud enough for the violent alter to hear.

Pitch grumbled and slouched in his seat, obviously annoyed he can’t talk about how much of a jerk Frollo was. Claudine went to go sit down when suddenly Fairy Godmother cleared her throat, causing her to freeze where she was.

“Could you please stay up here for a few questions?” the fae asked with a strained voice.

The half-Romani reluctantly moved back to where she was standing, glancing over at her boyfriend worriedly. As she expected, the ¾ Hispanic looked very worried and concerned, panic clear in his eyes as he glanced around, his mouth forming soundless words that made no sense. Much to her relief, Pitch leaned in close and whispered to him softly, which made Diego relax ever so slightly.

“Why does everyone call you Claudine if your real name is Catherine?” Fairy Godmother asked, a mix of curiosity and disguised horror on her face.

“P-please, don’t call her that! Claudine is fine with saying her birth name,” Claudine was relieve when he avoided her birth name, “but when adults,” she noticed that there was an unspoken “like you”, “say her name, it reminds her too much of her father.” Diego begged desperately, his eyes flashing with a terror that broke her heart.

“Diego’s right. Also, he answered your question, so go onto the next one.” Anthony said from his seat, his stony façade flickering with understanding.

“Alright, Mr. Tremaine.” Anthony’s face briefly contorted with disgust at the use of his aunt and grandmother’s last name but it faded into his normal apathetic look, “Now, Claudine, what did you mean by significant others?” Fairy Godmother continued.

“Well, Diego identifies a demiboy, using he/they pronouns, and Pyrros is genderfluid so their pronouns are constantly changing, depending on their mood. So calling them my ‘boyfriends’ isn't exactly accurate.” Claudine replied bluntly, smiling sweetly and proudly at Diego at how sharp her voice was.

“Alright.” Fairy Godmother said with her patented too-wide, too-forced smile.

By the look in Fairy Godmother’s eyes, she wanted to ask more questions but decided not to.

Good.

“Alright, thank you Claudine. Coraline, you are up.” the fae said, gesturing toward the dignified 17-year-old.

Coraline got up and, almost as if on cue, Pitch did as well, confidently walking to the front of the class. His hands were in his pockets and he looked very unamused, a slight sneer of distaste on his face as he passed by Fairy Godmother. However when he settled at his spot in front of the class, his pose and overall demeanor turned more laid-back, sending a playful smirk to all of the VKs.

Coraline, on the other hand, was poised and dignified, as she always was. After all, while Connor was the obvious hard-hitting leader of the group, Coraline was the smooth-talking, calm, collected leader of the group, using her persuasion and cold attitude to make sure no one hurt her, her family, or her friends.

Though, Claudine had to admit, while on the Isle she was more scared of Coraline than of Connor or any of his alters, including Pitch. But, here in Auradon, Pitch was 10 times scarier, not just physically, but there was also a slight emotional difference (though that was probably in part because of the unfamiliar surroundings): broader body, darker hair and skin, terrifyingly sharp teeth, more prone to violence (as seen with Chad), and a lot more manic. But, underneath all that rage and bitterness, Claudine could still see the older brother figure that she had grown up with for the past 8 years of her life: the way that he knew how to calm Diego in one of his hallucinating states, how he knew exactly how to make Claudine less nervous, even the way that he responded to the other VKs.

It was comforting, to say the least. So, when he subtly flipped Fairy Godmother off, she couldn’t help but stifle her giggles. Pitch, noticing that she giggled, grinned, showing off his sharp fangs happily. Coraline also smiled, though her smile was a lot more subtle.

“Alright, so introduce yourselves.” Fairy Godmother said, gesturing toward everyone.

“Well, I’m Coraline Hartz, and this is my dear sibling, Connor Hartz. Though, currently, as you can see, Pitch is in control.” Coraline said smoothly, gesturing toward Pitch with one gloved hand.

“‘Sup. Y’all know me and know why I’m here. Connor’s still a bit annoyed that I’m refusing to leave but fuck ‘im.” Pitch said with a smug grin.

“Right. And, as you guys also know, our dad is Cardinal Hartz and our surrogate,” Hadie giggled at the term, “is Ebony Pitch, formerly Ebony Hartz. And we got our dad the hell out of that toxic relationship when we were 9.”

“And ½. Remember? It was six months until our birthday.” Pitch supplied, nudging his sister.

“You always do remember the oddest details. Anyway, so he is currently running a pawn shop while our surrogate is running a hair salon which sucks and we have graffitied multiple times.” Coraline continued with a small smirk at her comment.

“And have encouraged rumors that make people go to Curl Up and Dye. Not in a literal way; just go to the shop, owned by Lady Tremaine, Drizella Tremaine, and Anastasia Fournier.” Pitch added on, flashing a grin at Dizzy and Anthony.

Anthony looked very happy at the fact that Pitch had used the name Fournier when referring to his mother, especially considering the fact that that’s the last name that she used. Dizzy also was happy that her place of work, as illegal as it was to actually make a child work at it, was mentioned as well.

“And...is that everything?” Coraline asked, looking her brother curiously. 

“We...think so? We might be reminded of something when one of the others mentions something.” Pitch hummed thoughtfully, eyes briefly tinged with onyx before returning back to their normal color.

“Alright, thanks for sharing. Hadie, do you want to share next?” Fairy Godmother said, looking at the lesser god curiously.

“Of course!” Hadie said, getting up and making his way to the front of the classroom, swishing his skirt as he did so.

However, when he got to the front, Claudine noticed that Fairy Godmother’s nose crinkled, as if she smelt something horrible, and her smile seemed to get 10x more forced.

“Hadie, you may not know this, because you’re new, but boys wearing dresses isn’t allowed in the dress code.” Fairy Godmother stated before Hadie could even say anything.

From where she was sitting, Claudine could see the way that Hadie’s face fell with sadness and disbelief. However, the lesser god quickly regained his composure and plastered on a wide smile.

“But, Mrs. Goodwill,” Claudine heard Pitch snicker at the way that Fairy Godmother’s face went slack with surprise and shock at Hadie’s tone of voice, “First off, I am a god. I am neither a boy or a girl. Second off, clothing is not gendered so you can’t say that only one gender can wear certain pieces of clothing.” Hadie said with a sickeningly sweet tone of voice.

Fairy Godmother looked like she was going to say something when the bell rang, signaling the end of the period. With a smirk, Hadie went back to his seat, picked up his bag, and then left, all of the other VKs following him.

However, once they were out of hearing range of the classroom, Hadie’s shoulders slumped and Claudine could have sworn that she heard a sorrowful sniffle.


	8. Discontinued (Kind of)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a tiny explanation from me, the author.

Hello, there!

So, you're all probably wondering what this is about.

Well, recently, I've been writing a series called "Taking Back the Crown" which is a what-if AU that entails the VKs finding a way off themselves because Ben can't make his proclamation.

And what does that have to do with this story? 

What that means is that I've been characterizing characters/making so many new head-canons/ideas as I go, making the ones in this story no longer..work with me?

To further solidify the need to rewrite this story was that, after thinking about all of the scenes in Descendants 2 (which was practically all of them) that annoyed me, I have also started writing a Descendants 2 rewrite, which has the joking name of "Descendants 2: The Gayening", where all of my personal gripes with Descendants 2 are solved, ranging from Carlos and the other's apathy and lack of understanding of Mal's feelings to all of the missed opportunities.

So, the rewrite of this fic will more or less be my Descendants 3, as it will take place shortly after the Descendants 2 rewrite.

I'll be keeping this fic up, however, to show the progress that I've made in different characterizations and character development.

I hope to see you all as I rewrite Descendants 2 and this story!

Stay creative and wonderful!

-zouge_tori


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